Third ex-Adams County Sheriff’s Office employee pleads guilty to forgery, misconduct in fraud scheme
His plea agreement also stipulates he will forfeit his ability to work as a law enforcement officer in Colorado.
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A former Adams County sheriff’s division chief on Friday became the third high-ranking officer to plead guilty to falsifying training records while employed by the agency, prosecutors say.
Michael Bethel — along with former Sheriff Rick Reigenborn and former Undersheriff Thomas McLallen — signed training rosters for classes they did not attend and submitted training certificates to state regulators to claim they had fulfilled their annual training requirements in 2021, which McLallen and Reigenborn had not.
Bethel pleaded guilty to felony forgery and the misdemeanors of second-degree forgery and first-degree official misconduct. He was sentenced in Denver District Court to a two-year deferred prison sentence and will serve two years of probation concurrently.
Bethel must also pay $1,000 in fines, serve 100 hours of community service and write apology letters to the sheriff’s office and Colorado Peace Officers Standards and Training, which regulates the training and certification of law enforcement officers.
His plea agreement also stipulates he will forfeit his ability to work as a law enforcement officer in Colorado.
“Law enforcement officers have an obligation to complete important training as a requirement of maintaining their certifications. For those who fail to do so, and who defraud the state about meeting those requirements, there must be consequences,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a news release. “Our department is committed to holding accountable those officers who undermine the trust in the profession and violate the law.”
Reigenborn and McLallen pleaded guilty and were sentenced this year for their roles in the scheme.
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